Curtin University Homepage
  • Library
  • Help
    • Admin

    espace - Curtin’s institutional repository

    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
    View Item 
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item

    “Too much medicine”: Insights and explanations from economic theory and research

    Access Status
    Fulltext not available
    Authors
    Hensher, M.
    Tisdell, J.
    Zimitat, Craig
    Date
    2017
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Hensher, M. and Tisdell, J. and Zimitat, C. 2017. “Too much medicine”: Insights and explanations from economic theory and research. Social Science and Medicine - Part C Medical Economics. 176: pp. 77-84.
    Source Title
    Social Science and Medicine - Part C Medical Economics
    DOI
    10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.01.020
    ISSN
    0160-7995
    School
    Curtin Teaching and Learning (CTL)
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/55002
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    Increasing attention has been paid in recent years to the problem of “too much medicine”, whereby patients receive unnecessary investigations and treatments providing them with little or no benefit, but which expose them to risks of harm. Despite this phenomenon potentially constituting an inefficient use of health care resources, it has received limited direct attention from health economists. This paper considers “too much medicine” as a form of over-consumption, drawing on research from health economics, behavioural economics and ecological economics to identify possible explanations for and drivers of overconsumption. We define overconsumption of health care as a situation in which individuals consume in a way that undermines their own well-being. Extensive health economics research since the 1960s has provided clear evidence that physicians do not act as perfect agents for patients, and there are perverse incentives for them to provide unnecessary services under various circumstances. There is strong evidence of the existence of supplier-induced demand, and of the impact of various forms of financial incentives on clinical practice. The behavioural economics evidence provides rich insights on why clinical practice may depart from an “evidence-based” approach. Moreover, behavioural findings on health professionals’ strategies for dealing with uncertainty, and for avoiding potential regret, provide powerful explanations of why overuse and overtreatment may frequently appear to be the “rational” choice in clinical decision making, even when they cause harm. The ecological economics literature suggests that status or positional competition can, via the principal-agent relationship in health care, provide a further force driving overconsumption. This novel synthesis of economic perspectives suggests important scope for interdisciplinary collaboration; signals potentially important issues for health technology assessment and health technology management policies; and suggests that cultural change might be required to achieve significant shifts in clinical behaviour.

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Breastfeeding and health outcomes in infants who receive continuing care from hospitals or community health centres in Chengdu Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China
      Yu, Chuan (2013)
      Introduction. The child health is one of the most important indicators of population health and the development of society. The health of children in China has improved in the past decades. The child health care system ...
    • Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of embedded simulation in occupational therapy clinical practice education: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
      Gribble, Nigel (2017)
      Background: Clinical placements are a critical component of the training for health professionals such as occupational therapists. However, with growing student enrolments in professional education courses and workload ...
    • Family-centred care for hospitalised children aged 0-12 years (Review)
      Shields, L.; Zhou, Huaqiong; Pratt, J.; Taylor, M.; Hunter, J.; Pascoe, E. (2012)
      Background: This is an update of the Cochrane systematic review of family-centred care published in 2007 (Shields 2007). Family-centred care (FCC) is a widely used model in paediatrics, is thought to be the best way to ...
    Advanced search

    Browse

    Communities & CollectionsIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument TypeThis CollectionIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument Type

    My Account

    Admin

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    Follow Curtin

    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 

    CRICOS Provider Code: 00301JABN: 99 143 842 569TEQSA: PRV12158

    Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy statement | Accessibility

    Curtin would like to pay respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of our community by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the Perth campus is located, the Whadjuk people of the Nyungar Nation; and on our Kalgoorlie campus, the Wongutha people of the North-Eastern Goldfields.